Fiction – Live Cheap Dream Big

Category: Fiction

What Good Are Crappy First Drafts?

On September 4, 2022

The first draft of my novel is crap. Serious crap. It’s not even editable. All I gained with the first draft is the chance to tell the story to myself – and to one beta reader, which was kind of a mistake even though she was a very kind and encouraging reader. Having someone read my story too soon gave me the idea that I had to commit to what I had written – when in fact I need to scrap pretty much the entire first draft. In an odd way I felt like I would be letting down the one beta reader if I made too many changes to the story.

Note to self: never let anyone read my fiction until it is past the third draft!

Always Be Learning

…and be willing to change things up! The image I used in this post is a quilt I’m making – I followed a pattern, but when I laid it out I wasn’t happy with it. I changed things around a bit and now I love the layout. I use my design wall a lot with every quilt to try different layouts before choosing what I like. This is a good reminder to me that even when I think I know what I’m doing, I need to be open to change. That applies to writing as well as quilting.

Now that I have that first crappy draft out of the way, the real work begins. Since I wrote that first draft I’ve learned a few things. Like how to quilt. That will make a huge difference to this particular story. I have learned that developing a plot is a good thing. That’s where I am starting with the second draft. Laying out the overall plot, identifying specific scenes, developing a timeline, and a few more of the mechanics of telling a story. I know there is a lot for me to learn as I go.

Real Characters

One important part that has come out of the first draft is the characters. They are always on my mind. As I’m choosing fabric or a pattern for a new quilt I’m imagining what Elsie would say about it and whether she would approve of my choices. As I rearrange the furniture in my sewing room I hear Bert’s opinions on my storage and workstations. I feel like I’m getting to know them better as I work out how to write the next draft. Things are beginning to shift – at first I was imagining and creating a story and now I feel like I am transcribing a story my characters are telling me. The next draft will have real characters.

Creatives Need Community

My first draft taught me that creativity is increased when I am surrounded by other creatives. In learning to quilt I became part of a quilting community. That creative community has encouraged me, challenged me, and welcomed me. Community is crucial. What I need with writing is similar.

Isolation is a dream killer
Barbara Sher

I need to learn the mechanics of writing, and I need to practice a lot, and I need a writing community to encourage, challenge and welcome me. I have joined in with writers in my local area and I have connected with creatives online. I’m excited to see my writing community developing around me.

Motivation vs Discipline

I have learned that discipline is far more effective than motivation. When I wait to be motivated to write, it doesn’t happen very often. If I rely on discipline then things get done. I use a lot of tools to support being disciplined and sometimes they work – sometimes not so much. What I know is that discipline is simply a choice I make on a regular basis. Each time I choose yes to the goal, I build the habit of discipline.

Last week I committed to a small daily goal of writing for a minimum of 20 minutes. So far I have been writing for more than 20 minutes a day. Today, for example, I continued after the 20 minutes was up and I ended up writing a scene that is about 1500 words. Then I decided to write this post.

This is different from other times when I thought I had committed to something – but then failed to keep up the commitment. This time I am consciously thinking about my commitment each day, and making a choice each day. Each day I have the option to say yes to my commitment, or I can say no. I can test each day to find out if I am truly committed to my goal. So far I am.

If I start regularly answering no to my commitment, I can re-examine what I really want. Goals change. If I’m saying no to something I used to say yes to, it’s time to choose something that is more aligned to my new goal.

I like the freedom of choosing every day. There is no judgement about failure, no need for negative self talk. It’s simply a question I answer each day…do I want to finish writing this book? If the answer is yes, I go write for a minimum of 20 minutes. And I get to feel good about 1) having choice, 2) knowing I am choosing what I want even if I change what I want, 3) eliminating the need to beat myself up for not meeting expectations.

Next…NaNoWriMo

This discipline is good practice for NaNoWriMo. I haven’t participated in NaNoWriMo for a few years, but the book I’m working on now was first written during a NaNoWriMo challenge. Part of the reason for the really crappy first draft is that I didn’t know what the story was and in an effort to meet the word count I took the story on some pretty odd tangents. This year I’m going to try something different. I’m going to make a plan ahead of November. Right now I think I will be working on Elsie’s story, but that could change between now and November. I’ll keep you posted!

Comment if you’re going to join in on NaNoWriMo this year, maybe I’ll see you in that community. Or comment if this post has sparked something you’d like to share here.

Novel Update: Scenes 1-3

By bonnietw

On June 23, 2020

In Dream Big, Fiction

I joined Jeff Goins 500 Words a Day challenge on Monday. The goal is to write 500 words a day for 31 days. Just writing, no editing. I only discovered this challenge a few days ago but it has been going on for several years already. When a good thing starts it’s hard to stop it!

I use Scrivener for writing novels, and there is a handy tool that tracks my writing progress each day. Yesterday it showed about 1,000 words written. I probably deleted that many too! Anyway, I can say I made progress and met the challenge of 500 words.

I’m not sure how this will play out, as my novel is in the second draft stage. A lot of my work is editing and rewriting. I can write 500 words every day even if it isn’t exactly according to the challenge. One thing that the challenge does is motivate me to work on the novel every day. I have not been doing that for the last year, even though I want to finish this story and move on to the next story in the series.

When I wrote the first draft of Live Cheap Dream Big, I was really focused on the 50,000 word count to meet the NaNoWriMo challenge. I did well with the first half of the story and then it went off at such a crazy tangent that I gave up in disgust. I did meet the NaNoWriMo challenge though!

This book sat in a corner for several years. When I dusted it off and reread it, I decided it still had potential. I spent a few days considering how I could salvage the initial story and eventually it landed in the corner again.

Elsie taps me on the shoulder every now and then asking if I’m ready to try again. Yesterday I was. I have the first two scenes edited. Yay! The first pass through the novel this time is to pull the story line together. Once I have that done I will go through it again to polish it. Then, hopefully, it will be ready for a professional editor to take a crack at it.

Excerpt From Live Cheap, Dream Big

This is a short excerpt from the novel. Post in the comments and let me know what you think. Be constructive and kind please!

Scene Three

Today I move on to the third scene.

Scene three originated from a short story I wrote about an actual event. I added it to the novel about a year ago. It’s written in first person. Today I will rewrite it, so it becomes Elsie’s experience. I hope it will be as effective as it was originally.

I’m blogging about this novel partly to keep me motivated and not let my fears and doubts get in the way of finishing.

I also want to track my progress as I go, so I can repeat the process with the next novel in this series. Repetition makes learning new skills easier. Repetition also shows me where I can improve and maybe the next novel won’t take quite so long.

Finally, I’m blogging about the novel so that anyone following my progress will see that it doesn’t require perfection along the way to reach your dreams.

If you’re struggling to bring your creative dreams to life, pop over to my Facebook group. It’s an informal mastermind/accountability group for people who create.

How To Design A Quilt Studio

By bonnietw

On June 7, 2020

In Dream Big, Fiction

I’m taking a break from marketing today. Instead here is a glimpse into the work that is going on behind the scenes with Live Cheap, Dream Big.

Elsie, the main character, is researching studio spaces. There are a ton of questions she needs to answer before she can create a design for a stand-alone studio.

What activities will she be doing there – long arm quilting, hand quilting, embroidery, fabric painting, teaching?
How many people will need to be accommodated for each activity?
Will she have machines available to rent to her customers? Where will she get them?
What kind of layout is needed to accommodate each activity?

My Writing Goal

My next writing goal is to start designing Elsie’s quilting studio. The first step is to outline the space and equipment she needs for the work she will do. I have a much longer list of questions than what I’ve shared here!

A little over a year ago my husband and I renovated the basement to make my sewing studio space. We worked within the space we had, but Elsie will be be building her studio from the ground up. She has the freedom to create whatever layout she wants. She can make it larger or smaller if she wants. So many choices!

Analysis Paralysis

Sometimes too many choices mean decisions are more difficult to make. Between indecision and big ideas causing scope creep, Elsie and Bert have a lot to discuss. Elsie will need to draw on some good resources to stay on track.

Is it extreme to approach this as if I am building a quilting studio in real life? Maybe. But I know how I felt when I read a novel about a woman who did all her garage sale shopping on a Monday. Cheated. Lied to. Betrayed even.

That author obviously did not do the research because any self-respecting garage saler knows that garage sales go from Thursday to Sunday (occasionally with an early start on Wednesday). Never on a Monday. Such a small detail, but the author lost me on that tiny detail. Years later I remember this small error – but I forget everything else about the book and author.

Harsh, I know. But also true.

Every detail is important.

It’s why I am starting over with this book. When I wrote the first draft, I was a newbie quilter. If I had tried to publish it, it would have been a flop. Any self-respecting quilter would know I didn’t have a clue about quilting!

Now I am more experienced. I know quilters who are professional long arm quilters. I know quilters who run stores. There is a new wealth of knowledge and details available to me now – and it all matters.

Asking Experts For Help

Elsie will talk to other professional quilters and business owners. She may even join a business mastermind. As a newbie business owner, she has a lot to learn – and her own experience will be valuable to other people.

When I am ready to have the next draft of Live Cheap, Dream Big reviewed, I will ask a few of those quilters to read it. They will spot any issues like my garage sale example. When the book is published, Elsie will be as real a person to readers as she is to me.

I’d love to hear about your experiences. If you’re a professional quilter, do you have tips for Elsie’s studio? If you’re a reader, has an author lost you because of a small detail like the garage sale error?

Live Cheap Dream Big

Living the dream on a shoestring budget